The present invention relates to an automated inspection and sorting machine for bulk fasteners and other workpieces.
A growing number of industries require bulk fasteners and other workpieces that meet rigorous tolerance specifications. Imperfections in bulk fasteners can compromise the safety and the functionality of a host device, including for example complex machinery and load-bearing structures. Consequently, a variety of automated inspection and sorting machines have been developed to ensure bulk fasteners meet relevant tolerance specifications.
Existing inspection and sorting machines typically perform the following phases in rapid succession: inspection, decision-making, and sorting. Inspection can include imaging the bulk fasteners with one or more cameras and providing an output for the decision-making phase. The decision-making phase typically is performed in computer logic to rapidly evaluate whether dimensional tolerances (e.g., length, width) and non-dimensional tolerances (e.g., thread count, straightness, taper, roundness) are met. Lastly, the sorting phase typically involves the segregation of those bulk fasteners that meet the relevant tolerances from those bulk fasteners that do not meet the relevant tolerances.
In one known inspection and sorting machine, bulk fasteners are individually transported along a conveyor through an inspection station. The inspection station includes a camera that provides an output. Based on that output, the inspection and sorting machine determines, for each fastener, whether that fastener conforms to relevant tolerances. Conforming fasteners are ejected via an air stream from an air nozzle into a chute for conforming fasteners, while the remaining fasteners are allowed to continue to a chute for non-conforming fasteners. The non-conforming fasteners, and any additional fasteners not determined to be conforming, accumulate at the end of the chute for non-conforming fasteners, which are usually discarded.
Despite the advantages of the above inspection and sorting machine, there remains room for improvement in the automated inspection and sorting of bulk fasteners and other workpieces. In particular, there remains a continued need for an inspection and sorting machine that provides improved sorting under conditions that would otherwise result in the mixing of conforming fasteners with non-conforming fasteners.